George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
VCU
Volleyball Gets Past VCU, 3-1
9/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 28, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC -- The George Washington volleyball team defeated visiting VCU, 3-1, Tuesday on a night when the Colonials were not hitting on all cylinders. The Colonials won by the scores, 25-23, 25-20, 15-25, 25-17, at Charles E. Smith Center.
Playing its second straight match without the services of senior co-captain Leah Hill and also without freshman defensive specialist Hillary DeCarl, both of whom were sidelined with injuries, the Colonials had to dig themselves out of early deficits in each of the first two sets against the struggling Rams.
The Colonials combined to hit just .166 for the match with 24 attack errors compared to VCU's .121 (24 errors) team attack percentage. GW freshman Rachael Goss led the Colonials with her career-high 15 kills in 43 attempts while hitting .186 for 17 points. Sophomore Lauren Whyte also scored 17 points on 14 kills and 12 digs with a block solo. Sophomore Christie Graf, making her first start in place of DeCarl, recorded 11 digs while Candace Silva-Martin added a match-high 18 digs. Senior co-captain Katie Zulandt was by far the most efficient Colonial hitting .667 on 11 kills in 15 swings with just one error. Zulandt also blocked four Ram attacks, including three by herself.
The teams battled through five lead changes and eight ties in the first set before GW asserted control with a Zulandt kill to put GW at set point, 24-23. Silva-Martin followed with an ace to win a very close set, 25-23. The Rams raced out to a 6-1 lead in the second set before the Colonials slowly climbed back into it and forged a tie at 14-14 on a Ram attack error. GW scored 11 of the final 17 points to claim the 25-20 triumph.
The Colonials had a lot of trouble with their passing and ball control in the third set and fell behind 18-10 after three consecutive aces by Marisa Low. GW coach Jojit Coronel replaced several starters in an effort to regain some ball control but the Rams still coasted to the 25-15 win.
In the fourth set, GW showed signs of playing the kind of volleyball that has led to its 12 victories this season. The Colonials took control from the outset and never trailed en route to the 25-17 victory.
VCU (3-15) was led by Kristin Boyd's 11 kills for 12.5 points and Jhessica Martins' 11 points on nine kills, 10 digs and a pair of blocks. Low led the Rams with 14 digs.
GW (12-6, 1-0 A-10) next plays Friday night when it hosts Duquesne (11-6, 0-2 A-10) in an Atlantic 10 Conference match at 7 p.m.
Live video and free live statistical updates of the GW-Duquesne match are available by going to www.GWsports.com and clicking on the Audio •Video and Gametracker links on the volleyball schedule.
